Boys Basketball: Familiar face Jim Braddish takes over in Sandwich

Jim Braddish is about to move up one seat on the Sandwich sidelines.

Besides that, the transition sure sounds seamless.

Braddish, in his sixth season coaching at Sandwich, was officially tabbed as the Indians’ new head coach in August. It came after Brennan Callahan chose to step down to spend more time with his growing family.

Braddish takes over an Indians’ team with four starters – led by his son, Jimmy – back from a team that went 14-15 last season.

Braddish, a Plano graduate, knows these kids well.

He put together a travel basketball program in Sandwich several years ago. He coached the freshmen at Sandwich, then the JV and the last four as Callahan’s assistant.

“It’s been good, the energy is good and the familiarity with the guys,” said Braddish, who does insurance and financial planning in Yorkville when he’s not coaching. “I know a lot of the guys. I like the energy and the focus. Having nine seniors is a good thing to have. They’ve been really competitive in practice.”

Sandwich, in fact, has 14 seniors and juniors out for basketball, the most since he’s coached in the district.

Jimmy Braddish, a 6-foot-1 senior guard, is a good base to build on.

One of the best pure shooters around, Braddish averaged 21.6 points per game last year, second in the area. He scored 41 points, one off the school record, against Reed-Custer. Later in the season, he won the state’s King of the Hill 3-point competition.

“We want to build off of that,” coach Braddish said. “He’s had a good offseason, his scoring has always been good and he led the team in assists. For him, it’s the same as everybody. He’s focused on the team success.”

Braddish received plenty of attention after a hot start to last season, which will likely continue this year.

“We are prepared for that, we’re used to him getting face guarded,” coach Braddish said. “We are going to use him in different ways. We will move him around a little bit. He’s used to it now. Last year was a good experience for him.”

Braddish is joined by returning starters Mike Frieders, a 6-3 guard who averaged 7 points and 4 rebounds, Carter Cech, a 6-4 senior guard who averaged 7 points, 4 rebounds and 3 steals, and Jimmy Roop, a 6-3 senior forward who averaged 7 points and 4 assists.

Luke Bell, Bryan Leon, Wes Albright, Devin Carrera, Tristan Olson, Rex Avery and Jack Theurer saw time, with Kyle Theurer, Austin Ford and Andrew Poirier top newcomers.

Sandwich found a nice groove the last month of last season at the defensive end. Now the Indians need to find added scoring to match that defensive intensity.

“It’s tough to grind out those defensive games, that’s how I felt,” Braddish said. “We got some good wins, but everything was a tough one.

“We had a younger conference last year. It should be pretty competitive in our league.”